Silence! This is Survinder Vicky, the 'Kohrra' actor everyone is talking about
W
hile ace cinematographer Satya Nagpaul spent hours preparing a shot for Gurvinder Singh's 'Chauthi Koot' during Punjab's biting winters, actor Survinder Vicky would quietly enter the frame and sit on the charpoy.
No words would be exchanged. Both focused on their jobs -- Nagpaul on setting the frame, and Vicky on internalizing the angst of his character.
For Ivan Ayr's 'Milestone', where he played a truck driver, Vicky ensured that the seat was uncomfortable during the long driving lessons and actual shooting.
After all, the character's physical and mental exhaustion had to come forth.
While his latest 'Kohrra', directed by Randeep Jha, that recently dropped on Netflix is taking everybody by storm including Karan Johar who wrote on Twitter: "I was blown away by the performances @suvindervicky is and will be the revelation of 2023 across film and streaming… his silences can launch a million scripts; praises are pouring in from significant directors like Hansal Mehta and Deepa Mehta.
"Of course, I am on cloud nine. It is a high when people love your work. But I must add that I have always given my 100 per cent to each project, just that 'Kohrra' has touched a lot of people," the 50-year-old actor, who is originally from Hissar in Haryana tells IANS.
Vicky, who has been seen in a wide variety of roles including those in films like 'Kesari', 'Milestone', 'Udta Punjab' and several Punjabi movies, portrays the role of the cop Balbir Singh with multiple layers and several shades in 'Kohrra', in a performance punctuated with long silences, pregnant gazes, and allowing the abyss to look back at him.
"Powerful scripts and intelligent directors have a big role to play in allowing you to say more without uttering a word. I started doing this with 'Chauthi Koot'. And then you saw me in Ivan Ayr's 'Milestone'. When you internalise, the audience gets to know, and can relate with the character better," he says.
A pass-out from Punjabi University's (Patiala) Theatre and Television Department, he attributes his success to his theatre training, stressing that the same teaches one not just the craft but also the art of patience.
"You learn to 'wait', you acquaint yourself with the power of holding back, you understand when to throw a punch, when to just stay still."
He, however, insists that there is no 'process' that he follows, despite being a trained actor; and that everything has been learnt in the real world -- on the sets.
"It's never about acting theories, but in fact coming in contact with something inside that you never knew existed. While working with Gurvinder, and internalising the absolute silences of 'Chauthi Koot', I suddenly discovered my strength, my own language -- the one which does the talking in my subsequent films.
Now, he has been essayed the role of a cop in another Netflix series 'CAT', and will also be seen another one in a similar role, does he not fear being typecast?
"Not at all. Don't you feel I have broken the notion of being typecast despite playing similar multiple characters donning the uniform? Sehtab Singh (CAT) and Balbir Singh ('Kohrra') are two very different people. At least that is what I would like to believe."
All praise for chances actors like him are getting, thanks to OTT platforms, Vicky says the digital medium has brought about a metamorphosis in their lives.
"So much talent we are witnessing -- not just in acting but in every other department. Young directors are allowed to tell the story their way, thus facilitating actors like us to explore ourselves without bothering about the box office."
While he has worked with directors whose films premiere at international festivals, and also those who know the pulse of the box office, for this actor it is just the role that matters.
"Does it (role) offer me possibilities? Are there enough layers to it? Does it unearth new chasms inside me? That is all that matters," concludes Vicky.
(Sukant Deepak can be contacted at sukant.d@ians.in)
✔️ Silence! This is Survinder Vicky, the 'Kohrra' actor everyone is talking about
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